Claustrophobia
by Tobirion
Summary: Cloud and General Sephiroth get trapped in an elevator. Seph/Cloud


**Hmm, okay. For creative writing I'm supposed to be writing a sci-fi story. So when writing a story about Rufus being abducted by aliens (no, _seriously_) got boring, I started typing this. x.x Completely random SephCloud, anyone?**

* * *

"Can you do that?"

Zack waved his hand in front of Cloud's face for the third time, and the blond finally snapped out of whatever trance he was in. He took a rapid step back and gave Zack those big blue eyes that always made him cave, but Zack ignored him, looking up at the ceiling as he repeated himself again.

"…Yeah," Cloud said softly, taking the stack of folders off the Lieutenant's desk and holding them to his chest.

Zack nodded. "Good." He ushered Cloud to the door and drew him into a hug, made awkward with the papers between them. He straightened, clapped the Cadet on the shoulder and said, "He _should_ be in his office, but I dunno if he is or not. Here's my keycard…" he took the liberty of tucking it into Cloud's pocket himself, "…there ya go! You might have to wander around a bit…you'll find 'em, though."

Cloud was gently shown the door, and it clicked behind him with one last "Thanks Spiky!" He stared at the important Shin-Ra documents in his arms and took a few hesitant steps, not really sure where he was going.

Where was he supposed to find General Sephiroth, anyway?

Zack needed him to deliver all this stuff to the man, but hadn't really given him much information. 'You might have to wander around a bit.' Right. And of course he was terrified—why shouldn't he be, when Sephiroth was his hero?

Feeling like his feet were made of lead, Cloud started down the hallway. Zack had told him Sephiroth's office was on floor seventy-three, and that if he wasn't there, he was to try floor forty-nine. Okay.

He shimmied into the elevator, hurriedly pressing the seventy-three button after swiping Zack's keycard for clearance. After the button lit up he crammed himself in the corner and clenched his eyes shut.

Cloud was horribly claustrophobic. He had been for as long as he could remember. So far he hadn't had to use the elevators much, but eventually he knew that he'd be forced to get over his fear to have a successful SOLDIER career.

…But not just yet. He turned his head into the wall and sighed lightly. He didn't even get to go into the cool glass elevator… well, at least this one didn't go sideways, right?

Someone got on about four floors above the one he had started on, but Cloud didn't open his eyes. He took a few deep breaths, hoping it wasn't too obvious that he was terrified. Whoever it was didn't press a button, so they were going to the same floor. Maybe they knew Sephiroth and he could give him all the folders and wouldn't have to embarrass himself!

With a hideously loud grinding noise and a screech, the elevator jolted, sending Cloud to the ground with a yelp. Amazingly, he had held onto all the papers but one, but he didn't dare pick it up.

Frozen on the ground, on his hands and knees, Cloud realized what had happened. He glanced up at the light that showed what floor they were on.

He was trapped between floors forty-six and forty-seven.

An unmanly, fearful noise escaped his lips as he scrambled to his feet in a near panic. He remembered that there was another person with him, and he turned his head.

General Sephiroth leant against one of the walls casually, looking like this happened all the time. He was watching him coolly, lips twitching up at the corners.

"…S-Sir?" Cloud whispered, wanting the man to confirm that yes, they were stuck.

The General nodded and gestured for him to sit. Not one to go against an order from his hero, Cloud did gingerly, plopping the stack of paperwork beside him. Sephiroth did himself, and he pulled out his PHS, which had begun buzzing frantically. Cloud was momentarily relieved to know that the General was getting help, and he wrapped his arms around his legs, resting his chin up on his knees.

Sephiroth answered it, and after a few moments said slowly, "…You're telling me there's a monster in the elevator shaft?"

Cloud almost screamed, looking up in a panic. He was going to _die_ in a tiny little—

"I'm _in_ it," Sephiroth said calmly.

…Well, if Sephiroth wasn't freaking out, he couldn't, could he? He wasn't a baby—he could do this.

Sephiroth listened for about ten more seconds before hanging up abruptly and shoving it into his pocket. Cloud's heart began pounding when the General looked at him, green eyes not giving anything away. Would they live? Were they going to die? What?

"…Hi," Cloud blurted stupidly, almost shaking.

There was a brief pause, and then Sephiroth smiled at him. It wasn't a very _wide_ smile, but Cloud got the impression that it was a pretty big one for his hero. "Hi," Sephiroth responded, relaxing against the wall.

When the man's eyes didn't leave him Cloud whispered, "…Is…everything…okay, Sir?"

"Just a monster up there," Sephiroth said, pointing a gloved finger up at the ceiling.

Cloud almost had a stroke. He could see them now—the thing would bite right through the cables holding them up, and they'd plummet to their deaths, forty-six-and-a-half floors below. Gulp. Well, somehow Sephiroth would come out unscathed, but _he'd_ be a bloody smear. Double gulp.

Sephiroth watched him, smiling fondly again. "Relax, Strife," he said, looking forward at the rows of tiny buttons.

It didn't even cross Cloud's mind to ask how the General knew his name. He rested his head against the wall again, not caring that it was probably filthy. He clenched his eyes shut again, praying that Sephiroth couldn't see him.

The walls were closing in…he could feel it. The tiny room was getting smaller and smaller, and he'd be crushed and squeezed to death before he finished growing, before he made SOLDIER and before he got to tell Sephiroth he loved him! …It was already harder to breathe, and Cloud tried to gulp down air as quietly as he could, hoping Sephiroth wouldn't overhear. It was like there was a weight on his chest, stopping him from breathing normally—_he couldn't breathe—_

Cloud was suddenly hauled up against something warm, and he immediately buried his face in it. A pleasantly smooth yet rumbly voice asked kindly, "Claustrophobic?"

Oh. Sephiroth.

Beyond embarrassed, Cloud nodded the tiniest bit, not trusting himself to speak. Two fingers poked him in the forehead, and his head was pushed up. He gazed into the man's eyes for a moment before Sephiroth drew his attention down to his booted feet.

"Look," he said softly. "It isn't _so _small. My feet don't touch the wall." Indeed, there were a few inches left between the top of Sephiroth's boot and the dirty metal. Cloud nodded, overwhelmed with the fact that Sephiroth was trying to reassure him.

And really, it _did_ seem a bit bigger. Sephiroth wouldn't let any stupid walls cave in and crush him, right?

"…Thank you, Sir," he mumbled into the man's coat. He was far too comfortable to move away, even though he knew he probably should. Sephiroth didn't seem to mind, though, so he didn't let it bother him.

When there were scratching noises from above them, Cloud seized up, unconsciously clutching Sephiroth's arm and digging his tiny nails into the leather. One of Sephiroth's hands found his and gave a gentle squeeze, and Cloud relaxed. Shame flushed through him, and he looked away, trying to call on any strength he had to save any semblance of indifference to the whole situation.

"…Why did you come here?" Sephiroth asked a few minutes later, voice conveniently drowning out the faint ripping noises from above them.

Cloud glanced at his hero, face reddening. "…To make something of myself," he answered. It was partly true, too.

Sephiroth nodded. They sat in silence for a minute, but it wasn't really awkward. This time, when there was a few bangs from a few floors below them, Cloud asked loudly, "Do you have a favorite color, Sir?"

Another smile. "Yellow."

Cloud wrinkled his nose before he could help it, reaching up and tugging down his bangs, glancing at them. _Yellow!? _He doubted he'd ever met someone who had yellow as their favorite color before in his life. He smiled at the General, though, showing that he accepted the man's weird color preferences.

"Yours?" Sephiroth asked, not bothered by a dent that appeared in the floor by his foot in the slightest.

"Blue," Cloud said, nodding to himself. Blue was a nice color.

"Hmm... favorite food?" Sephiroth asked, looking slightly awkward. Perhaps Sephiroth didn't have very many people to chat about favorites with?

"Pizza," Cloud replied, giving the typical teenage answer. Sephiroth smiled, saying that he didn't really have one of his own.

When there was the sound of furious gunshots from the forty-sixth floor and the piercing, howling cry of whatever monster was below them, Cloud almost jumped out of his skin. Sephiroth glanced at him, concerned for the little Cadet but not really worried about himself.

"Cloud," Sephiroth said, realizing too late that the boy had yet to give his first name. He glanced at the boy's trembling and said, running a hand through the soft hair he had wanted to touch for so long, "I promise that if we start falling, I'll blast a hole through the top and get us out. You'll be fine."

Cloud was silent for a moment, then nodded hesitantly. A bullet ripped through the floor and exited through the ceiling suddenly, and Sephiroth mentally sighed as he gathered the frightened boy into his arms again. Did they have to be interrupted like this, really?

The boy had begun to shake, though it had eased a little once Sephiroth pressed Strife's head to his chest. Claustrophobia was a bitch, he knew, knowing several SOLDIERs who had it and were always trying to beat it out of themselves. But he reasoned that Cloud wasn't really scared of the elevator itself anymore, and was probably more afraid of the fighting going on outside their walls.

What level monster _was _it, anyway, to still be fighting after all this?

Cloud gave a shaky half-moan as sharp claws tore into the ceiling, and Sephiroth got an eyeful of glistening, snapping teeth before the thing crawled away and dented the opposite wall. Okay, it was one of Hojo's mutated beasts. Wonderful.

Strife needed a distraction.

Sitting cross-legged, Sephiroth hefted the boy into his lap. He smiled, hopefully sending positive feelings in the gesture, though he wasn't totally sure. Human interaction had never been his strong point.

Before he could try to resist, Sephiroth carefully covered Cloud's mouth with his own, rubbing a comforting hand down his side and winding a corded arm around a tiny waist.

He was delighted when Cloud went limp in his hold. Most likely the boy wasn't worried about the monster now, but he didn't dare draw away. Besides, he didn't want to.

Slowly their tongues brushed together, and Cloud made a muffled noise, wildly throwing his arms around his neck with helpless abandon. Sephiroth smiled into the kiss, hearing the monster give a last ear-splitting shriek as someone competent finally killed it. When Strife began grinding himself down into his lap with the tiniest of motions, Sephiroth almost died. Shuddering to think what Genesis would say if it was he who found them, he gently drew away, giving the dazed Cadet another smile.

"…Those are for you, Sir," Cloud slurred after a moment, pointing at those papers he had come in with. He shook his head after a pause and frowned, then looked up at him, eyes wide and innocent.

The elevator dropped a few feet alarmingly fast, and Sephiroth held onto Cloud alarmingly tightly in those few seconds, a hand already digging through his pocket for a fire materia. The doors creaked open finally, and a Second barked, "General, Sir! The monster has been…detained?"

The group of SOLDIERs peered at them, and Sephiroth stood up, gently placing Cloud on his feet. He instructed a Third to carry the folders, gripped Cloud's hand tightly and marched out, completely unruffled.

Glancing back at the elevator, which was pretty much useless, and then looking at a Second who was nursing a wounded arm, he knew he'd have to kill Hojo for that. But then he looked at the little Cadet, looking lost. Maybe he'd have to hug the slimy old scientist.

Well…maybe not hug.


End file.
